August 09, 2011

Morning Wrap

Civil Suit: The hotel housekeeper who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault filed a civil suit Monday against the former IMF official. The New York Timesnotes that it's unusual for a civil suit to be filed in a case like this where a criminal matter is still pending.

Hands on Deck: D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier is pushing ahead with the All Hands on Deck public safety initiative, despite a ruling from the Public Employee Relations Board that Lanier didn't have the authority to order police to work overtime. The Washington Postreports that Lanier is in talks with the city attorney general's office about whether to appeal the decision.

London Riots: Police in London are struggling to regain control of the city as riots continue to spread, the BBC reports. So far, 450 people have been arrested.

For-Profit Troubles: The Justice Department and four states filed suit Monday against Education Management Corp., which runs for-profit colleges, the Wall Street Journalreports. The company is accused for falsely certifying that it was eligible to participate in federal student loan programs.

Comments

It seems obvious that the housekeep in the DSK has decided to abandon the criminal legal process and the Manhattan District Attorney. This should not come as a surprise to anyone. She can pretend that the reason for this decision has to do with the district attorneys questioning her veracity to the tell truth. These dedicated professionals are simply doing their job and, admittedly, under difficult circumstances. If the housekeeper were to testify in the criminal case her credibility would forever be ruined and she would surely become the center of a criminal investigation. At that time the probability of her successfully prosecuting a civil action against DSK would be reduced to zero. The housekeeper has made a decision based upon economics; if she is going to be criticized, vilified, and investigated for what she will say, she believes that someone should pay her for the effort.